HP profits tumble as sales suffer

19 August 2009

Hewlett-Packard saw a 19% drop in quarterly profit following a steep sales decline in several of its key businesses. It reported earnings of $1.64bn and revenue of $27.45bn for the quarter ending July 31, 2% off the same period last year. HP is the world's largest PC manufacturer, but saw revenue for the division tumble 18% to $8.43bn. Revenues from its servers and storage division fell 23% to $3.66bn and the printer unit suffered a 20% to $5.66bn. In the software division, operating profit rose 13% but its revenue fell 22% to $847m. Last year HP bought services giant EDS, HP said revenue for this unit was up 93% to $8.47bn. Analysts described HP's results as decent enough considering the trading conditions, and felt the company had probably hit the bottom of the market.

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